The Falling was the second feature film directed by Carol Morley, best known prior to this for her drama-documentaries including Dreams of a Life. Released in 2014 to some acclaim, the film is set in a girl's school in 1969 and provides a heady brew of sexual awakenings, mystery and, erm, incest.
Morley also wrote The Falling, which follows Lydia Lamont, a schoolgirl who develops a crush on her friend Abbie. When Abbie has fainting fits and eventually dies, it kick-starts an epidemic of fainting fits within the school, which even affects one of the younger teachers. With the other teachers assuming the fainting girls to be faking and doctors at a loss, the audience is kept guessing as to what is really going on for most of the film, with some reviewers even banging on about supernatural elements, which the film does not in fact have, and it eventually turns out that the fainting are caused by an outbreak of hysterical contagion unwittingly started by the damaged Lydia.
This all works quite well, but Morley fumbles the ball somewhat, with the film's denouement proving slightly melodramatic, fuelled as it is by Lydia having incestuous sex with her half-brother Kenneth, whom Abbie slept with before she died. Although she thought he was her full brother, until her furious mother reveals that Lydia was actually a product of rape by a stranger. Morley attempts a brave examination of these bold themes, but it all feels a bit like an over-egged pudding, and it doesn't help that the second half of the film drags interminably at times.
Nevertheless, there is much to admire here. It's a very good looking film, with excellent mise-en-scéne from Morley, who honed her skills on short films and her previous feature film Edge as well as on her documentaries. Agnes Godard's striking cinematography lends the film a dreamy, art house vibe, although Tracey Thorn's score - whilst nice - slightly undermines things since it doesn't quite fit the period or the mood. The young cast members are very good, generally managing to do a good job of fainting convincingly, with Maisie Williams - fresh from Game of Thrones - giving an excellent performance as Lydia. Florence Pugh is also very good as Abbie, whilst then-rising star Joe Cole gives a charismatic but believably awkward performance as Kenneth. Maxine Peake is very convincing as Lydia's emotional distant mother Eileen.
Morley's characterisation is occasionally sketchy, but workmanlike: Greta Scacchi's formidable Miss Mantel is a bit of a cliché, but a believable one who turns out to have secrets in her past that she is ashamed of. There's a lovely scene when she and the Principal, Miss Alvaro, note that they girls have no idea how misunderstood middle aged women feel and end up in fits of giggles. There's a nagging sensation throughout The Falling that it isn't quite as good as it could and should have been, and it's probably overrated. Nevertheless, it has much to recommend it and is definitely worth watching.
Morley also wrote The Falling, which follows Lydia Lamont, a schoolgirl who develops a crush on her friend Abbie. When Abbie has fainting fits and eventually dies, it kick-starts an epidemic of fainting fits within the school, which even affects one of the younger teachers. With the other teachers assuming the fainting girls to be faking and doctors at a loss, the audience is kept guessing as to what is really going on for most of the film, with some reviewers even banging on about supernatural elements, which the film does not in fact have, and it eventually turns out that the fainting are caused by an outbreak of hysterical contagion unwittingly started by the damaged Lydia.
This all works quite well, but Morley fumbles the ball somewhat, with the film's denouement proving slightly melodramatic, fuelled as it is by Lydia having incestuous sex with her half-brother Kenneth, whom Abbie slept with before she died. Although she thought he was her full brother, until her furious mother reveals that Lydia was actually a product of rape by a stranger. Morley attempts a brave examination of these bold themes, but it all feels a bit like an over-egged pudding, and it doesn't help that the second half of the film drags interminably at times.
Nevertheless, there is much to admire here. It's a very good looking film, with excellent mise-en-scéne from Morley, who honed her skills on short films and her previous feature film Edge as well as on her documentaries. Agnes Godard's striking cinematography lends the film a dreamy, art house vibe, although Tracey Thorn's score - whilst nice - slightly undermines things since it doesn't quite fit the period or the mood. The young cast members are very good, generally managing to do a good job of fainting convincingly, with Maisie Williams - fresh from Game of Thrones - giving an excellent performance as Lydia. Florence Pugh is also very good as Abbie, whilst then-rising star Joe Cole gives a charismatic but believably awkward performance as Kenneth. Maxine Peake is very convincing as Lydia's emotional distant mother Eileen.
Morley's characterisation is occasionally sketchy, but workmanlike: Greta Scacchi's formidable Miss Mantel is a bit of a cliché, but a believable one who turns out to have secrets in her past that she is ashamed of. There's a lovely scene when she and the Principal, Miss Alvaro, note that they girls have no idea how misunderstood middle aged women feel and end up in fits of giggles. There's a nagging sensation throughout The Falling that it isn't quite as good as it could and should have been, and it's probably overrated. Nevertheless, it has much to recommend it and is definitely worth watching.